Jackson Free Press

There are certain power players in the entrepreneurial game that everyone should know. Two names are Michael and Steven Roberts. When I crawled from under the rock I'd been living under, I realized that these men have made massive waves in the business world, and have no intentions of slowing down. I sat down with the St. Louis-born brothers at their newly acquired Roberts Broadcasting here, in the capital city, and talked to them about their business ventures.

Last year, the Roberts brothers bought and launched the UPN34 station. Since then, however, UPN and WB, both networks that largely draw an under-40 demographic, have merged to form the CW network.

"Nowhere else in the U.S. will there be a new launch of a new TV station, introducing the format along with the UPN launch and in the same year, CW. (Steve and I) trumped the other TV station … we're now launching a network in the first year of the operations of a TV station," Michael says.

The acquisition of this station isn't just another industrial opportunity for the brothers, however. They intend to do community programming and outreach by "bringing the good news" and "supporting different causes" so that the "people in the community know that they have a media partner," Steve says.

As for their staff, the men try to fully equip them, too. "We hired people who could handle TV, and we're going to train them to work with radio. We're exposing people to an opportunity for growth. We want all of our employees to be whatever they want to be in our business," Steven continues.

This venture, in addition to the other media outlets and 65 commercial and residential properties they own, hasn't come easily, but with the hard work and persistence they learned from their parents.

"My mom pretty much raised us," Michael explains, "while our dad worked hard to support our family as a mail carrier for 39 years." All the while, both parents instilled in the brothers the importance of education. "The year I graduated from law school," says Michael, "Steve graduated from college, and our mother graduated from college the same week."

But Michael realized quickly that an education simply wasn't enough to guarantee success. Successful individuals are what he, the author of "Action Has No Season," calls "actionaires." In the book, Michael details many of his secrets to success. When asked rather or not the American Dream was a myth or reality, he says, "Any dream requires action to fulfill. What most people find themselves doing is waiting for their destiny to come to them. That's a serious mistake. You have to pursue your destiny."

The brothers are the first African American hotel owners in St. Louis, and they own the largest black-owned resort development in the Bahamas. The list is seemingly endless. Steve admits that there are times when the pressure gets to him.

"Every day," in fact, he says. "But then we look for the next adventure to go after. It's what gives you adrenaline. Part of happiness is finding new opportunities and new things to do."

The elder brother, Michael, adds: "We work to make a life, not a living. We want to set an example for young people—particularly African Americans. (Growing up,) we weren't rich; we weren't poor; we just never had money. We did this the old-fashioned way."

The self-made brothers intend to continue working, and don't believe in retirement. "Too frequently, the 'system' teaches us to get a good education, find a job, and maybe they'll retire you at the end of the day with a fake Timex watch," Michael says.

Wrapping up the conversation, I asked the brothers how it was possible for me to not have known about them before the interview. Michael answered simply: "The rich scream, but wealthy people whisper."

Previous Comments

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66840

Comment

Wrapping up the conversation, I asked the brothers how it was possible for me to not have known about them before the interview. Michael answered simply: “The rich scream, but wealthy people whisper.” That is soooooo cool.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-09-30T20:40:58-06:00